More than four days after launch and despite a fuel leak that caused the failure of its mission, the lander built by a private American company continues to operate in space – at least for now, AFP and Agerpres write.

Launching a probe created by AstroboticPhoto by Joe Marino/UPI/Profimedia Images

Startup Astrobotic, the company that developed the Peregrine lander, was set to attempt to place an American lander on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

But earlier this week, the American company announced that the rover would not be able to reach the surface of the moon as planned.

Despite this fact, Astrobotic’s engineering teams continue to look for “life extension solutions”, the US company said on Friday, which is currently using the lunar module as a space probe to collect as much scientific data as possible in the future attempt to place a new module on the moon. .

The anomaly, which occurred shortly after Monday’s launch, may have been caused by a valve malfunction that led to a “tank rupture,” according to the fledgling US company. The result: a fuel leak that affected the landing mode.

On-board devices transmitted important data

However, the astrobotics engineers did not give up, and their efforts paid off: for now, the spacecraft managed to stay on course and move away from Earth, reaching a distance of more than 350,000 kilometers from Earth.

Devices on board, including scientific instruments developed by NASA, successfully transmitted important data. Two of them measure radiation during flight, NASA said.

“Sending a spacecraft to the moon is no easy task,” Nicky Fox, NASA’s assistant administrator for science missions, wrote on social media X. “I applaud Astrobotic’s hard work, perseverance and dedication as they face the challenges of their mission,” – she added.

How the launcher will end its adventure is not yet clear, but some space enthusiasts have already expressed a series of speculations about a possible controlled crash of this vehicle on the surface of the moon.

  • VIDEO The Vulcan rocket was launched, which will try to place an American probe on the surface of the Moon for the first time in 51 years
  • The Peregrine spacecraft sent to the moon has serious technical problems